While Republicans have largely backed President Donald Trump, Democrats have repeatedly invoked War Powers resolutions to force debate on the administration’s foreign policy measures.

The most recent case concerns Cuba. Representative Nydia Velázquez introduced a War Powers Resolution in the House of Representatives aimed at blocking any military action against the island without legislative approval.

Mr. Trump “promised there would be no new wars, but he is dragging us into another conflict,” Velázquez warned on her X social media account.

“As he threatens to ‘take over’ Cuba, his oil blockade is worsening a humanitarian crisis and punishing the Cuban people,” she wrote, adding, “We have seen this strategy before. We cannot repeat it.”

She stated that with the War Powers Resolution, she seeks to ensure “that Congress has a voice and a vote before we go down that path. No to war with Cuba.”

Additionally, a press release published on her official website asserted that President Trump’s bellicose foreign policy is generating new wars and conflicts around the world.

The initiative, which seeks to prevent the United States from engaging in military hostilities against the Caribbean nation without congressional backing, “arises in response to the recent aggressive actions of the Trump administration toward Cuba,” the release noted.

“Our country is already embroiled in a new war with Iran; the President has set his sights on achieving regime change in Cuba,” said Velázquez, who represents New York’s Seventh District in the House.

She added, “This administration’s foreign policy is completely out of control and puts countless lives at risk, both American and foreign.”

“Trump’s military blockade, his threats, and his track record during this term demonstrate that Congress must reassert its constitutional authority and stop another disastrous war before it is too late,” she concluded.

The text of the resolution notes that Congress holds the exclusive power to declare war under Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the United States Constitution.

The legislative proposal specifies that “Congress has not declared war on Cuba or on any person or organization within Cuba, nor has it enacted specific legal authorization for the use of military force within or against Cuba.”

Senate Democrats introduced a similar measure on March 13. The resolution, presented by Senators Tim Kaine, Ruben Gallego, and Adam Schiff, would require the president to withdraw armed forces from any hostilities involving Cuba.

In a statement, Kaine warned that “only Congress has the power to declare war under the Constitution, but he [Trump] is acting as if the U.S. armed forces are his own personal guard, ordering military actions in the Caribbean, Venezuela, and Iran without congressional authorization or any explanation of his actions to the American people.”

Gallego, meanwhile, reiterated that Trump “campaigned on ‘America First,’ but now it is obvious he has become a puppet for the warmongers in his party.”

The occupant of the Oval Office has intensified his maximum pressure policy against the Caribbean nation in his long-standing effort to achieve regime change. To that end, he has brutally reinforced the economic, financial, and commercial embargo that has been in place for over six decades, imposing unprecedented pressure on the island’s oil supplies.

A recent YouGov poll revealed that a significant portion of the American public—46 percent—rejects the administration’s policy of preventing third countries from sending oil to Cuba.

Meanwhile, another survey conducted by the firm Blue Rose Research reflected majority opposition to the use of force against Cuba.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff